London Transport rolling stock
This is a listing of the rolling stock (and other equipment) used on the London Underground Central Line Former Rolling Stock When opened in 1900, the railway was operated by electric locomotives hauling coaches. The coaches were fitted with gates at each end, similar to those used on the City and South London Railway and the Glasgow Subway. The locomotives, with a large unsprung weight, proved highly unsatisafactory and the cause of considerable vibration. They were replaced as early as 1903 with motor cars, with the existing coaching stock being adapted to run as trailers within newly formed electric multiple units. By the 1920s the rolling stock was in need of modernisation or replacement. Given that the then-new London Underground Standard Stock was too large to work in the line's tunnels, it was decided to modernise the existing fleet. The end gates were removed and replaced by an extension to the passenger accommodation. Two air operated single-leaf sliding doors were inserted into both sides of each carriage. Reconstruction work was carried out by the Union Construction Company at Feltham. Additional trains were purchased for the opening of the Wood Lane to Ealing Broadway extension in 1920. These were also temporarily used on the Watford extension of the Bakerloo Line. The London Underground 1900/1903 Stock and London Underground 1920 Stock were finally withdrawn from service in 1939. With the enlargement of the tunnels and modification of the electrical supply, Standard Stock (displaced from the Northern Line by new London Underground 1938 Stock) was operated - eventually as 8-car trains following platform extensions. The Standard Stock became increasingly unreliable during the 1950s. Some had been stored during World War II pending the opening of extensions. Plans for replacement (using a production version of the prototype London Underground 1960 Stock) were abandoned; new trains of London Underground 1962 Stock (virtually identical to the tried and tested 1959 Stock) were ordered instead. These operated until their replacement by London Underground 1992 Stock in the early 1990s. The Epping-Ongar branch was not electrified until 1957, prior to which the service was operated on behalf of London Transport by British Railways using steam hauled coaches. Upon electrification, two-car sets of London Underground 1935 Stock were initially used, later replaced by 4-car sets of 1962 Stock specially modified to cope with the limited current. The section closed in 1994. Metropolitan Line The current rolling stock in use on the Metropolitan line is the sub-surface gauge London Underground A62 Stock built by Cravens in Sheffield, which were shared with the East London Line until 2007. While it ran in service with unpainted aluminium bodywork for many years, since refurbishment the stock has received the now standard white and blue Underground livery, with red ends. Metropolitan line services are usually formed of two four-car units coupled together for a total of eight cars, although the Chesham shuttle service is served by four-car trains, as was the East London Line. The A Stock trains were built in the early 1960s and are now the oldest trains operating on the London Underground. They replaced a wide variety of older rolling stock, including trains with hinged doors and compartments (London Underground T Stock electric multiple units for Watford services and locomotive-hauled carriages for Aylesbury services), as well as London Underground P stock (built in 1937) and London Underground F Stock (built in 1920) used on Uxbridge services. The A Stock trains are due to be replaced by the new London Underground S Stock. Piccadilly Line: currently 1973 tube stock. The line was previously worked by 1959 stock, 1956 stock, 1938 stock, standard tube stock and 1906 gate stock. The corresponding Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_rolling_stock is likely to be more up to date. Category:London Transport